While walking through NBA locker rooms I’m always amazed at the random stuff players have laying around in their locker. There’s traditional stuff like deodorant and free NBA swag, while some players have giveaways from local businesses or the latest DVD’s and CD’s.

Or, in the case of the Toronto Raptors, players like Reggie Evans and Hedo Turkoglu have taken to marking their territory with white tape to keep players out of the area in front of their lockers.

What really caught my attention last week was what was in Jarrett Jack’s locker: a massive pile of mismatched shoes. I’ve seen a lot of bizarre stuff during my three years covering the NBA but seeing a locker overflowing with mismatched shoes takes the cake.

My curiosity got the best of me and when I asked Jack the story behind all the shoes he burst into a massive grin. Turns out that after each Raptors’ game this season he’s approached friends from opposing teams for one of their game worn kicks which they then sign.

Figuring this was just another kicks fiend I almost let the topic drop. Luckily I didn’t because the best part of this story is Jack uses these shoes to give away at his summer basketball camps. Each summer he holds basketball camps for kids in the D.C. area who come from families who don’t do well financially and he uses  the shoes to rewards kids who have done well academically the previous year or who have established themselves as leaders during the camp.

While this story isn’t huge, with all the negative publicity the NBA has endured over the past week I figured basketball fans in Washington – and across the globe – would welcome the chance to hear about an NBA player who was born and raised in the Washington area doing something to give bask to his community.